'Bot' accounts swamp Spanish social media with misleading flood claims

Following Spain's worst natural disaster in years, misleading social media posts about DANA are being amplified with the help of bots.

DANA is a strange weather phenomenon, an intensified version of what is known as a "cold drop", which occurs when a mass of warm air collides with a stagnant mass of cold air at high altitudes.

Automated or semi-automated X accounts, or, bots are replicating tweets from other users with disinformation and violent messages about the floods, which have killed at least 217 people and caused widespread destruction.

These accounts are verified and can interact with other posts to increase the visibility of content, topic or profile.

One of these false claims involves the car park at the Bonaire shopping centre in Valencia. 

The posts shared on social media platforms and Telegram channels falsely stated there were 86, 258 or 1,000 deaths.

There were also misleading claims that the car park had at least 100 cars inside.

The misleading post has had real-life repercussions, with the national police to launch a rescue operation.

However, Spanish police confirmed there were no reports of deaths or citizens inside.

Later, the mayor of Aldaia, Guillermo Luján, said the place was “practically empty” with only 20 vehicles inside.

Flood destruction and Christmas lights

Another misleading claim that has been circulating involves Christmas lights.

These tweets show pictures and a video of Valencia City Council staff supposedly putting up Christmas decorations during the rescue period, suggesting a misuse of public resources. 

One of the tweets reads: "The mayor of Valencia is putting up the Christmas lights right now, instead of sending workers to help. In addition to being incompetent, they have no heart."

Another one states: "Valencia City Council is finally getting to work using vehicles and personnel. But its priority is putting up the Christmas lights, not helping to search for thousands of missing people and helping tens of thousands of people affected by the floods, many of whom have been left homeless."

However, with the help of reverse image tools, we can identify the company is a private one — "Iluminaciones Just, SL".

Spain's Public Sector Contracting Platform shows that the company began the work in October 2024. 

According to the contract, on 2 August 2024, Iluminaciones Just, SL was awarded a three-year contract to be in charge of the Christmas decorations.

The city council also stated in a press release that the private company had temporarily stopped installing the lights.